Riding the Wings of Change
by MediaBox
Summary: Cardin thought after the whole Forever Fall incident that life would move on at it's regular pace. However with his team facing the disdain of students and disappointment of the faculty, he couldn't have been further from the truth. With loss after loss bridging the gap between his teammates, Cardin has to figure something out. The path towards change begins with a single step.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, please read the author's note at the bottom of the story.**

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The barrage of fists bashing into his shoulders and stomach sent him skidding back, close to the rings edge. His effort in creating any sort of opening was all but useless. He put his left hand over his right rib and used his mace to steady himself by sticking into the ground. His breathing was heavy and labored, which only made his weariness all the more obvious. In contrast, his opponent was itching to continue. Her mane of golden locks only complimented the smirk she wore as she stared him down with amusement. Cardin made the first move by placing both hands on the handle of his mace, only to be met with an uppercut to the jaw that sent him flying up and out of the ring.

"The winner is Ms. Xiao Long." said Ms. Goodwitch as she stopped the timer and began to make her way towards the two combatants. "Ms. Xiao Long, your strategy of using constant pressure to wear down your opponent was very well executed, but playing with your opponents like this spar is some sort of game would have left an opening for a more experienced fighter to incapacitate you. Try to remember that."

"Aye aye, Ms. Goodwitch," replied Yang as she walked back to her team with a grin and flashing a peace sign. Ruby jumped up and talked excitedly to her sister; Blake was focused on reading one of her books, giving Yang an acknowledging glance; and Weiss seemed to give Yang a compliment of sorts, mixed with her own judgement of the fight.

"Now, Mr. Winchester" started Ms. Goodwitch in an annoyed tone.

At this point, Cardin had picked himself off the ground and began to walk back towards his team while using his mace for support. He turned towards her, but his eyes were focused on the timer. The only confirmation he showed was a barely audible grunt.

"You left multiple openings and showed a lack of flexibility which has been making itself more and more apparent as the school year continues. Another issue is your habit of choosing to take a hit that you could have avoided. Even the largest aura reserves dwindle with enough sustained damage. Are you even listening, Mr. Winchester?" Ms. Goodwitch asked as her glare intensified on Cardin's form.

Another grunt was his only reply as he continued to stare down the timer. "Hmm," continued Ms. Goodwitch as she left the arena "that is all for today's class."

Everyone then left to continue the rest of their schedules, whether that was lunch or going to their next class period. However, one student remained in the arena. Cardin Winchester continued to stare at the timer with a tired expression. This tiredness evolved into anger as her punched the arena wall.

"Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds... that's all." Cardin turned his back to the wall and began to slide down towards the ground, letting his mace fall to his side.

"What the shit am I even doing?"

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**This is my first story I have ever written, so it's going to be a journey for all of us. This first chapter is me trying to dip my toes in the water and see how it is taken. I wanted to write about a group of characters that don't get a lot of attention. Team CRDL are usually tossed aside, but some very excellent writers on this site have shown the potential that these characters have for growth and depth. Any criticism, grammatical or story based, would be greatly appreciated. I have some basic guidelines for the story, but nothing is set in stone. At the end of the day, I just want to write a story the community can enjoy. All the chapters will be up for revision and improvement.**

**Thanks, MediaBox**

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July 22, 2019


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those who Favorited and Followed this story!**

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Lunch had come and gone, but Cardin wasn't in the mood to eat anyways. He marched with a scowl to his last class of the day being Grimm behavior studies. Students gave him looks that ranged from scoffs to wary stares, whether this was from his reputation or demeanor didn't matter. They could all fuck off for what he cared. He only increased his pace in order to keep himself from becoming even more pissed off.

After a couple of minutes of walking, he had made it to room 321- Grimm behavior studies. Cardin quickly took his usual seat at the end of a row next to a boy with shaggy, brown hair who slept through class nine out of ten times. His name didn't come to Cardin's mind, but Cardin couldn't bring himself to care.

Doctor Oobleck came speeding in on his normal caffeine high. Papers flying of his desk as he stopped in front of the first row. "Good afternoon students, today's class will be about basic Nevermore flock behavior." Doctor Oobleck lecture began as it always did, at a break-neck speed. Cardin did very little in the way of listening or note taking, but Oobleck made him give up completely. With the human embodiment of caffeine blabbing on and on, Cardin drifted back to today's fight in combat class.

The thought of simply how quickly he was defeated was enough to make him grit his teeth in anger. His inability to even injure his opponent made him want to scream. Finally, the sneering of his classmates was enough for him to want to crush a combat drone with his bare hands. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn about his classmates, but the past two months of failure were taking its toll.

His team was only a team in name alone. Dove had not talked to anyone outside of classes, Sky tried to stay in the library as much as possible, and his partner Russel made it obvious that he was avoiding them all together. Cardin did very little to interact with them either, but all of this beating around the bush was beginning to aggravate the shit out of him. It was clear everyone had something they wished to say, but no one is talking. As he began to clutch his table in anger, Cardin finally noticed Doctor Oobleck trying to get his attention.

"... Mr. Winchester… Mr. Winchester! Good, I see that I now have your attention. Please explain to the class how a young Nevermore will interact with others of its species to track down and kill a target."

Shit. "Uhm…. it will shoot the target with its feathers and chase after it with other Nevermores?"

"I thought I was the one who was asking the questions, Mr. Winchester," sighed Doctor Oobleck as leaned against the top of his desk. "No, Mr. Winchester. A younger Nevermore will alert other of its flock to the location of the target by screeching and circling it. The flock will then split into two or three parties to surround the target and cut off any potential escape for the target by using their feathers to control the space around the target. Eventually, the target will tire itself to exhaustion or become a pincushion in the process." By the end of Doctor Oobleck's answer, the bell proceeded to ring. As everyone gathered their things, Doctor Oobleck exclaimed, "Don't forget to read pages 423 through 457 for Friday's quiz over Nevermore combat patterns. Mr. Winchester, a word if you would."

For fuck's sake. "Now Mr. Winchester, please tell me what you see here." It was a stack of papers with a large "D-" written in red ink on the front cover. In short, it was his essay on Boarbatusk migration patterns. Better than he expected to be honest considering he had "politely" asked one of the faunus freaks to do it for him, only to have the shitstain's whole team almost bite his head off after finding out . Because of this, he had to do it the night before it was due. Honestly, it was one of his better pieces of work- he actually used a book to help this time.

"My essay, Mr. Oobleck."

"It's doctor. No, it's a lack of progress, and a sign of underachievement in my class. How could you expect to lead a team with so little knowledge of those you wish to hunt?"

Another lecture, another half-assed answer. "I can hold my own. The only thing I need to know is to just attack. A Grimm can't hurt anyone if it's disintegrating on the floor."

"And you can't "just attack" if you lie dead under a hoard of Boarbatusks, Mr. Winchester. I want you to redo this paper and turn it in next Wednesday. A week of time should suffice."

Not happening but if it gets him out of here faster, then sure let's fucking go with that. "Alright, Mr. Oobleck."

"You have potential, Mr. Winchester. Don't squander it. Please pick up these papers before you leave." Doctor Oobleck then sped off. Fuck. Cardin quickly picked up the papers and threw them on to Oobleck's desk. The practice area sounded like a good place to blow off some steam. Destroying some bots could do a lot for his mood.

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The practice area only had a few students, most of them being second years and higher. Making his was towards arena four, Cardin used his scroll to activate four practice bots. He took his position with his feet shoulder width apart, left foot in front of his right, and mace in a double hand grip. Two bots made their way towards Cardin, one from his left and the other from his right. With a downright murderous grin, Cardin charged towards the bot on his left and knocked it over with one swing of his mace. As the bot landed on its back, the one on Cardin's right was closing the distance between them. Cardin turned and grabbed the bot on his right by its neck, lifting it up with one hand. He then threw the bot onto the other with a crash and shattered both of them with one downward swing from his mace.

The other two bots sprung to life, one choosing to charge Cardin head-on while the other began to fire rubber bullets in his direction. Cardin used the bot charging him as cover from the one firing at him. Once the two met, he shoulder charged the bot and ran straight towards the ranged bot. The bot at range moved out of the way, only to watch as Cardin rammed the other bot into a wall creating a dust cloud. Cardin's mace came flying out of the cloud of dust and crashed into the bot, tearing out the place where its head used to be. He walked out of the cloud of dust and cracked his neck.

That feels a hell of a lot better. Cardin begins to queue another squadron of bots, stopping when his stomach began to growl. He sighed and thought to himself as he retrieved his mace, " Should have eaten lunch, dumbass." The cafeteria should still be open for dinner.

As Cardin made his way towards the exit, he saw the last person he needs to be interacting with right now. Yang Fucking Xiao Long. She was fighting seven training bots, destroying them in quick fashion. Her team was resting on nearby benches, seemingly just finished with training.

I am not dealing with this shit right now.

Any hope of him leaving without them noticing him vanished as Yang looked over after finishing the last bot and grinned at him. "Hey, Bird Boy! How are the bruises healing?" Damn it! I am not in the mood to deal with her shit right now. " …." Cardin just kept making his way towards the exit with his right hand clenched around his mace's handle.

"Oh, did I knock your brain loose with that tap to the jaw? I would say it's a shame, but I don't think there is much going on up there anyway."

This bitch. As he turned and raised his mace, the RWB part of RWBY was standing at the ready behind Yang as she grinned at Cardin, challenging him to do anything. With an aggravated exhale, Cardin stomped his way out of the exit and towards his dorm. He had lost his fucking appetite.

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**Hey guys, thanks for reading chapter two! I'm trying to depict Cardin as an uncaring asshole with an inflated ego. I hope I was able to display this in an adequate fashion. This will change as his character grows and changes. He may seem unlikable now, but I am planning to change that. **

**I know Oobleck teaches history in the regular anime, but I am going to put more classes in the rotation of Beacon's curriculum. Only having one combat, Grimm, or history class would not really prepare students for a Huntsmen career.**

**Let me know what you thought about the brief fight scene. I wanted to write a small one in order to get feedback and improve before any big fights. Leave a review if you have any ideas. If you are shy and do not want to leave a review publicly, pm me. I can not say I will use everyone's ideas, but a group of brains is better than one. :)**

**Thanks for dropping by, MediaBox**

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July 23, 2019


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